World’s biggest Snow Castle situates in the town of Kemi. The distance between Helsinki and Kemi is 712 km / 442.4 mi. The Distance from the Arctic Circle is 125 km / 77. Flying from Helsinki takes 1 hour 30 minutes, which means that if You are in hurry, flying makes it possible to visit the Snow Castle in one day, whereas by train it takes about 7 hours.

Snow Castle, what it is? It is a castle made of snow and every winter it must be rebuilt and every year it has a new theme. Inside there is Snow Restaurant, Ice Bar, Snow Chapel and Snow Hotel. Many tourists love to sleep in Snow Hotel due to gorgeous experience; others come to get married in Snow chapel. Best time for a visit, in my opinion, is from February to the beginning of March. Best time to shoot photos, is at twilight (In February sunset is about 4:30 pm) and after the sunset in the dark.

Year 2017 brings huge changes for this awesome winter destination. Snow Castles move to a new area, to the center by the sea, which means better and new possibilities. For example new Seaside Glass Villas for watching Northern Lights. Each Glass Villa’s size is 21m² and they have small kitchen and bedroom. The theme of the year 2017 is Finland 100 years. More detailed in Visit Kemi.

Personally, I love to stroll inside the castle, admire ice, snow sculptures and to peep inside Snow Hotel rooms. Ice and snow sculptures are gorgeous and they tell stories about the theme of the year. Later cafeteria invites me to enjoy a cup of hot coffee with a doughnut and to listen to murmur of conversations of different languages spoken round the world.

My collection of photos are from 2006 – 2013. Last six photos I took in winter 2016.

This year I wanted to visit again World’s biggest Snow Castle because it celebrated its twentieth anniversary. This was my fifth visit and every time it amazes me. Where is this castle? It is situated in the small town called Kemi by the sea. To reach Kemi there is flight and train connections from the South. Also there are connections from Rovaniemi (Arctic Circle) by train and bus. The distance between Kemi and Rovaniemi is only 117kilometers / 72miles. The distance between Helsinki and Kemi is 712 kilometers / 442.4 miles. In Kemi the Snow Castle is situated one kilometer from the town center, in the inner harbor area of Kemi.

Every winter Snow Castle must be rebuilt and every year it has a new theme. This year’s theme was Finnishness. Inside the castle this means that snow art on the walls presented for example scenes from the Kalevala, which is the national epic.

So what to see in the Snow Castle? There is Snow Restaurant, Ice Bar, Snow Chapel and Snow Hotel. On Castle’s courtyard there is Snow Slide for children. In a separate building there is a cafeteria. Inside it is nice to warm up and relax enjoying some nice drink. In the nearby building there was an exhibition of twentieth anniversary of the Kemi Snow Castle. I have permission to show scenes how the Snow Castle was built. Original photos took photographer Timo Laapotti who has photographed Snow Castle since 2006. My four photos which I took from his photos, I present here with his permission. Thank You Timo.

Marriages are made possible in the chapel. Many couples come around the world to marry in Snow Chapel. I think that memories stay long time in their minds! What about to stay overnight in Snow hotel, must be on many people’s lips. Man is not freezing inside, because sleeping bags are excellent. The inside temperature in rooms is -5°C / 23°F regardless of the outside temperature. When I was in Kemi, the temperature was 1°C / 33°F! This means that outside weather was warmer than inside. There are 48 beds in different size of rooms. I have photos from Snow hotel’s rooms to get better idea what they look like.